New Delhi, June 27: Opposition parties hit the streets in many States on Saturday, enforcing strikes in Kerala, Orissa and West Bengal, in protest against the Centre’s decision to hike fuel prices and warned of more agitation unless there was a rollback.
Protests were also staged in Andhra Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh among other States. In Mumbai, senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde led an agitation of party workers. The BJP also staged protests in Jammu and Kashmir and Chandigarh.
In Orissa, BJD, BJP, NCP and CPI members sought a resolution on the price hike in the Assembly.
The BJP took to the streets in Uttar Pradesh. In Lucknow, after a dharna, party leaders and workers attempted to march towards the Vidhan Bhavan, but were intercepted by the police. Agitated party workers attempted to break the cordon, forcing the police to use water cannon. In Tripura, the ruling Left Front called a dawn-to-dusk bandh in Tripura on Monday to protest the hike. — PTI
Deserted look
Raktima Bose reports from Kolkata:
Kolkata city wore a deserted look as public vehicles went off the road in response to a 24-hour-long transport strike called by the Centre of Indian Trade Unions, the labour arm of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), in protest against the hike.
Most of the buses, taxi and auto-rickshaws stayed off the road here and in the districts, forcing commuters to either walk to their destinations or pay extra fare demanded by the few taxis and autorickshaws that plied. Being a weekend many offices were anyway closed.
Private vehicles were allowed to ply. Flights and trains were kept out of the strike’s purview. Metro railway services were also normal.
However, passengers who arrived in the city during the day faced a tough time. Many people were seen stranded with their luggage outside the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport as well as the Howrah and Sealdah rail stations, not being able to find transport.
Rickshaw pullers made a killing during the day by charging steep fare. Normal life hit
Thiruvananthapuram Special Correspondent reports:
The 12-hour hartal called by the ruling Left Democratic Front brought life to a halt in Kerala. There was no major incident. Public carriages stayed off the road and most government offices and private establishments had a virtual holiday. There was no disruption in train services, but rail passengers had a tough time reaching their destinations. Air passengers too had a similar experience.
–PTI & Agencies–